Characters:
-Esperanza- She is the nararator of the book. The name Esperanza means 'hope' in Spanish. She tells about her life while she is living on mango street.
-Nenny- Nenny is Esperanza's little sister.During the book Nenny wants to fit in with Esperanza and her friends becuase they are the older kids.
-Rachel and Lucy- They are sisters who live across the street from Esperanza. They don't like to hang out with Nenny as much because she is younger than them. -Sally- Sally is one of Esperanza's friends. She is the same age as Esperanza, and she is sexually active. Even though Sally isn't a good friend to Esperanza, Esperanza is still a good friend to Sally.
-Marin- Marin came from Puerto Rico to stay with her cousins. She teaches Esperanza and her frinds about the world of boys. Eventually Marin ends up moving back to Puerto Rico.
-Mama and Papa- They are Esperanza's loving parents. Her father is not as dominating as a father, like some other fathers are on mango street. Her mother was born in the United States, and her father was born in Mexico.
Summary: The House on Mango Street is about a year in the life of Esperanza, a girl who is about twelve-years-old and struggling to find herself. During the year, she moves with her family into a house on Mango Street. The house is in the center of a crowded Latino neighborhood in Chicago. Esperanza does not have any privacy, and she decides that she will someday leave Mango Street and have a true home.
The book talks about her life; as Esperanza matures during the year, both sexually and emotionally. She begins to write as a way of expressing herself and as a way to escape from the neighborhood. The book has the stories of Esperanza’s neighbors, giving a full effect of the many people surrounding her. Esperanza quickly befriends Lucy and Rachel, two Latina girls, like herself, who live across the street. Lucy, Rachel, Esperanza, and Esperanza’s little sister, Nenny, have many adventures in the small space of their neighborhood.
Esperanza later slips into puberty and begins to like it when boys watch her dance. Esperanza's newfound views leads her to becoming friends with Sally, a girl her age who uses boys to distract her from the thought of her father abusing her again. Esperanza is not completely comfortable with Sally’s sexuality. Their friendship is questioned when Sally ditches Esperanza for a boy at the carnival. Because of this Esperanza is sexually assaulted by a group of not-Mexican boys at the carnival. Prior to this, at her first job, an old Chinese man orders her to kiss him. Esperanza’s traumatic experiences and observations of the people in her neighborhood make it official that one day she will leave Mango Street. She later realizes that she will never fully be able to leave Mango Street behind, however, she promises that after she leaves she will return to help the people she has left behind.
Review of the Book: I give this book three stars, because I thought that it was hard to follow the storyline. It seemed as if every chapter had a different story to tell you about when Esperanza lived on Mango Street.
The House on Mango Street Scenes (acted out):
[This scene is of Esperanza, Rachel andn Lucy. They are playing jump rope and singing a song while they play.]
I chose this scene because it reminded me of myself. When I was little i used to jump rope and sing songs similar to the ones that Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy. This shows that no matter your ethnicity, you still are a kid.
The House on Mango Street
By: Sandra Cisneros
Characters:-Esperanza- She is the nararator of the book. The name Esperanza means 'hope' in Spanish. She tells about her life while she is living on mango street.
-Nenny- Nenny is Esperanza's little sister.During the book Nenny wants to fit in with Esperanza and her friends becuase they are the older kids.
-Rachel and Lucy- They are sisters who live across the street from Esperanza. They don't like to hang out with Nenny as much because she is younger than them.
-Sally- Sally is one of Esperanza's friends. She is the same age as Esperanza, and she is sexually active. Even though Sally isn't a good friend to Esperanza, Esperanza is still a good friend to Sally.
-Marin- Marin came from Puerto Rico to stay with her cousins. She teaches Esperanza and her frinds about the world of boys. Eventually Marin ends up moving back to Puerto Rico.
-Mama and Papa- They are Esperanza's loving parents. Her father is not as dominating as a father, like some other fathers are on mango street. Her mother was born in the United States, and her father was born in Mexico.
Summary: The House on Mango Street is about a year in the life of Esperanza, a girl who is about twelve-years-old and struggling to find herself. During the year, she moves with her family into a house on Mango Street. The house is in the center of a crowded Latino neighborhood in Chicago. Esperanza does not have any privacy, and she decides that she will someday leave Mango Street and have a true home.
The book talks about her life; as Esperanza matures during the year, both sexually and emotionally. She begins to write as a way of expressing herself and as a way to escape from the neighborhood. The book has the stories of Esperanza’s neighbors, giving a full effect of the many people surrounding her. Esperanza quickly befriends Lucy and Rachel, two Latina girls, like herself, who live across the street. Lucy, Rachel, Esperanza, and Esperanza’s little sister, Nenny, have many adventures in the small space of their neighborhood.
Esperanza later slips into puberty and begins to like it when boys watch her dance. Esperanza's newfound views leads her to becoming friends with Sally, a girl her age who uses boys to distract her from the thought of her father abusing her again. Esperanza is not completely comfortable with Sally’s sexuality. Their friendship is questioned when Sally ditches Esperanza for a boy at the carnival. Because of this Esperanza is sexually assaulted by a group of not-Mexican boys at the carnival. Prior to this, at her first job, an old Chinese man orders her to kiss him. Esperanza’s traumatic experiences and observations of the people in her neighborhood make it official that one day she will leave Mango Street. She later realizes that she will never fully be able to leave Mango Street behind, however, she promises that after she leaves she will return to help the people she has left behind.
Review of the Book: I give this book three stars, because I thought that it was hard to follow the storyline. It seemed as if every chapter had a different story to tell you about when Esperanza lived on Mango Street.
The House on Mango Street Scenes (acted out):
[This scene is of Esperanza, Rachel andn Lucy. They are playing jump rope and singing a song while they play.]
I chose this scene because it reminded me of myself. When I was little i used to jump rope and sing songs similar to the ones that Esperanza, Rachel, and Lucy. This shows that no matter your ethnicity, you still are a kid.
Cited Sources:
"YouTube.com"http://youtube.com/watch?v=q2OA0HNNaPk 27 Jan. 2008
"The House on Mango Street- Wikipedia, the free encylopedia" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_House_on_Mango_Street#Plot_summary 27 Jan. 2008
"Notes for the House on Mango Street" http://www.masconomet.org/teachers/trevenen/mango.html 27 Jan. 2008
http://www.latinoleaders.com/images/upload/SandraCisneros.gif 27 Jan. 2008
http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/7380000/7382211.jpg 27 Jan. 2008